What are the most frequent sleep disorders?

It's not the first time we talked about the dream, more specifically about the importance of sleeping well and also doing it long enough for our health and our organism. And is that in recent years we have known numerous scientific studies that pursued the objective of analyzing the role that the dream exercises on our health, and more specifically on the restoration and strengthening of different neuronal circuits. In the case of children, for example, the quality and time of sleep is even more important, as it helps to strengthen the connections between the right and the left hemispheres of the brain, improving learning and consolidating or strengthening new concepts or memories.

But as we previously knew about the Effects of sleeping a few hours a day, resting less than 6 hours a day directly influences our body and our health, increasing the risk of suffering from diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, high blood pressure or stroke, while intellectual capacity and performance are affected , we gain weight and the brain is not able to perform its necessary basic functions, creating plaques that can later result in the onset of dementia and other related diseases.

What is a sleep disorder?

The sleep disorders, also known as sleep disorders or as sleeping sickness they consist of a wide group of disorders that affect the normal and habitual development of the sleep-wake cycle, being able to be so serious that they interfere in the mental, emotional and physical functioning of the person.

This type of disorders can affect the course of the dream directly, or do it in a secondary way. In fact, they affect either the possibility of falling asleep or staying asleep, as well as falling asleep at inappropriate times, sleeping for too many hours or maintaining abnormal behaviors during it.

Did you know there are more than 100 different sleep and wakefulness disorders? These can be grouped into four main categories, which are divided into the following:

Insomnia: problems falling asleep and staying asleep.
Excessive daytime sleepiness: problems to stay awake.
Problem with sleep rhythms: mostly problems for the maintenance of a regular sleep schedule.
Behaviors that interrupt sleep: maintenance of unusual behaviors during sleep.

The most common sleep disorders

Although there are more than 100 sleep disorders there are some conditions or conditions that tend to be the most common, especially since they are the ones that most people suffer most. They are the following:

1. Insomnia

It is the most frequent sleep disorder. In fact, it affects transiently (that is, punctually) to 40% of the population, and chronically to 10%, generally maintaining a prevalence of between 20 to 30%.

Insomnia includes difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. These episodes can appear and disappear, last only between 2 to 3 weeks (transient or short-term insomnia) or be lasting (chronic insomnia).

2. The restless legs syndrome

It has a prevalence of between 5 to 10% of the population. It consists of a disorder of neurological origin that causes Annoying sensations in the legs during rest, causing the person to have the need to get up, walk and move, since with the movement these unpleasant sensations tend to be relieved or disappear.

It affects both men and women equally, and although it can appear at any age, it is much more frequent after the age of 40. Affects the quality of sleep, causing the appearance of drowsiness during the day since the person is not able to remain asleep during the night, or fall asleep.

3. The syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea

It consists of the third most common sleep disorder, with a prevalence of 4% of the population. It becomes one of the most dangerous sleep disorders, since the person suffering from it stops breathing for a few seconds because the airways have been blocked or partially narrowed.

It is common for people with apneas to wake up tired in the morning, feeling drowsy or sleepy all day long. In addition, they have a higher risk of suffering depression or high blood pressure that is difficult to treat.

Images | ISTOCKPHOTO / THINKSTOCK This article is published for informational purposes only. It can not and should not replace the consultation with a Physician. We advise you to consult your Trusted Doctor.